Poor Little Orphan Girl
by Clue Impaired
Summary: Carolyn Barek has a perfect family almost. Not Mike he is as surprised as the rest of us. Ch 5 I'll be around Sometime COMPLETE Please R
1. Chapter 1

**Poor Little Orphan Girl**

Carolyn figured her life was just about perfect. She had the best little baby in the world, Logan and she would be married soon and she had a family at her job. She was one very happy woman. Jenna Logan was two months old and Carolyn was scheduled to go back to work soon. It was going to be hard, but she was ready. They had a wonderful woman to take care of Jenna while they worked and she'd be on light duty for a few weeks yet, so the work wouldn't be too strenuous.

Mike came home from early and gave the baby a big kiss. Then turned his attention to his wife and wiped all motherly duties out of her mind with a devastating kiss. "How're my two favorite women today?" he grinned leered at her.

Carolyn blushed. The man was incorrigible. You'd think he'd never been deprived in the bedroom before. It was a good thing she was on the pill, or they'd be in trouble again real soon. "We are fine, Daddy. Aren't we, Jenna?"

"You know since I'm home early and I thought we'd go out to a restaurant and celebrate."

"Celebrate? Did you make captain?"

Mike made a scoffing sound. "Like that'll ever happen. No, we're celebrating the return to normal life after Ms. Logan here made a spectacular entrance."

"So we're going to a fast food restaurant again?"

"Oh, you're funny. No, Ms. Smart Mouth. A real restaurant where they bring the food to you. So get all dolled up here, while I visit with my beautiful little girl and we can go."

"It's not going to be too fancy, is it? I can't fit into some of my…."

Mike put his arm around her waist and pulled her against him for a big kiss. "Whatever you put on will look beautiful. Just because you're wearing it." He informed her.

She lightly cuffed him on the arm. "You've been drinking." She teased.

"Not a drop, scouts honor." He grinned at her.

"You were never a scout, you scoundrel."

"Cross my heart….I swear, not a drop. I just want to show off my beautiful ladies to everyone and have a good dinner. Unless you'd rather stay in." he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Carolyn laughed and pushed away from him. "Lech. I'll be back out in a bit."

Mike turned to his daughter and put his finger down for her to grab. She latched on with a strong grip and looked at her father with large brown eyes. He could swear that she wanted to talk to him. He grinned at her and saw her eyes watch his mouth. She'd be talking to him soon enough.

Carolyn found a knit dress of soft green that didn't show much of her small residual baby weight. Though it was going away she was still self conscious about it and the doctor said that was normal. She hadn't gotten it in a couple of months and she wouldn't loose it overnight. She put on heels, thankful that Mike was tall enough that she could wear them and not tower over him. She dusted her nose and a touch of lipstick and she was ready.

Mike was just finishing changing Miss Jenna when she came out of the bedroom. That had been a big surprise to her that he was such a willing and adept partner at such things as dirty diapers. He had a real knack for babies, something he'd worried about for months before this little girl came along. He saw her and sat up admiring her. "You look fabulous." He said softly.

Carolyn couldn't help feeling very pretty with his admiring look. "Are you almost ready? Do you want to change or anything?"

"I'll wash up a bit then we can go."

Carolyn packed a diaper bag and got the young lady into her carrier and turned to see Mike coming toward her. "That was quick."

"I'm hungry." He grinned at her.

The restaurant was a family one with children of all ages. Mike eyed the rowdy ones with a cops eye and they soon toned down their activities around that particular table. The food was good, filling and plentiful. There were people there without families and even a few singles. It was a nice time and the waitress thought Jenna was sweet. She brought them a piece of pie after the meal without being asked.

"We didn't order this." Mike said stopping her from putting his down.

"I know. That young woman did. She paid for it." She gestured over her shoulder behind her.

Mike and Carolyn both looked in the required direction. "What young woman? There's no one there." Mike said tersely.

"Why that young woman in red….Hmm, she's gone."

"I think I've had enough. I don't think I can eat another bite." Carolyn said uneasily.

The waitress stood up and eyed them. "She said you might say that. She said you are police officers. She thought you might be suspicious. So I'm telling you, she had nothing whatsoever to do with this pie, beyond paying for it. She has not touched it and I've served several people from the same pie and they're fine. If you don't want it, I'll take it home with me. The young woman did say that this is your favorite, ma'am."

"She knows me?" Carolyn demanded.

"She seemed to. I thought she'd have come over to say hello, but she said she'd catch you later. I took her the check and she gave me a nice tip. She seemed really nice."

"I think we need to be going. Can you bring us the check? And you can have the pie, if you want it, with our compliments." Mike said smoothly.

The waitress nodded wisely and put the pie back on her tray. She pulled out her order pad and gave them the check. "I hope you enjoyed your meal. Please come back again." She said professionally and moved off.

Mike threw down enough money to cover the bill and a tip and helped Carolyn get her jacket on. Then he picked up Jennas carrier and followed her to the door. Carolyn paused by the door. Mike handed her the carrier and stepped ahead of her going out the door, prepared to either go for a person or his gun whichever the case was.

No one was out of the ordinary. Carolyn stepped out and headed for the car. "Congratulations, Carolyn." Said a voice from between two cars.

Carolyn froze and Mike put himself between the speaker and his family. "Who are you? Come out where we can see you."

The woman who stepped out was on the short side and wore red. She saw Mike but her attention was focused on Carolyn. The light was dimming, but not so dim that he couldn't see her face. He heard Carolyn gasp. "What're you doing here?"

The woman smiled and cocked her head ever so slightly to one side. "Is that any way to greet your sister?" she asked.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Out of the Blue**

"Your sister?" Mike asked Carolyn. You said you didn't have any family."

"Half sister." Carolyn spat out angrily. "She's part of my fathers second family. The one he left us for."

Mike glared at the woman, defensive over the pain he heard in his partners voice.

"Is that true?"

"Yes."

"What the hell do you want?" Carolyn asked tensely. She really did wish she had her gun.

"Relax. If you ask him nicely, I'd bet your partner here would shoot me if you really want him to. He looks like he's ready to anyway."

"She asked you a question. What the hell do you want?" Mike snarled at the woman.

"Actually, I need to talk to you, Carolyn. Preferrably without fear of being shot on the street."

"We don't have anything to say to one another. Go back to where you came from." Carolyn barked.

"Such stubbornness. Just like him, except he was completely unreasonable. I had hoped that you'd at least have a touch of sanity about you. You have to be a logical person to have come as far as you have in your job. And stop clutching that carrier like I'm going to hurt your daughter. I don't eat babies. I never have." The woman snapped in irritation.

"Look, lady, just….." Mike said angrily.

"Detective Logan, I'm only here to pass on some information to your soon to be wife that she deserves to have. I don't want anything except that then I'll leave and you will never see me again unless it's her choice."

"What information?" Mike asked at the same time Carolyn said "You don't have anything to say I want to hear."

Mike glanced at her and shrugged. "You heard her. She's not interested. So leave and don't bother us again."

The young woman raised her hands. "Fine."

Carolyn passed behind Mike and he edged sideways to keep the woman between him and his family.

"He's dead, Carolyn." The woman said suddenly.

Carolyn stopped. She didn't turn around. "Good." And continued on toward the vehicle.

The woman shook her head. "He was an ass and he hurt her so much because that's who he was." She was talking to Mike now. "But what she needs to do is get a hold of the lawyer. She needs to talk to her. I had hoped to talk to her just once as a sister, but I guess that isn't going to happen. Here is the name and number of the lawyer. It's to settle the estate. At least, for her sake, ask her to look it over. Then maybe she can put closure to the whole mess." The woman put a sheaf of papers on a brick ledge and turned away.

"Wait. What's your name? How do I get in touch with you?"

"Ask her my name. And you can't get a hold of me. I told you that was all I wanted. I only want her to be happy. If she is now, then I'm pleased for her. Good night."

Mike eased forward and picked up the papers and hurried back to the car. Carolyn was sitting still as a statue in the passengers seat. Mike got in and turned on the dome light. "What are those?" Carolyn demanded.

"These are papers she wanted to give you." He replied.

Carolyn hissed angrily and pulled away as though they were poisonous. Mike was puzzled by his partners unusually illogical actions.

Mike opened them and read them. He wasn't going to tell her what they said. He folded them up and put them on the floor between his feet and the door, put on his seatbelt and started the car. He had pulled out of the parking lot, watching for the woman and headed in the opposite direction of home. He intended to drive around awhile in case the woman followed him.

Carolyn sat still and silent. Finally she asked in a strangled voice. "What are those papers for?"

"Let me concentrate on driving. We'll talk about it when we get home." He reached over and took her tense hand. "She won't bother us again. She said she won't and I'll make sure of it." He told her.

"I can't believe she's here after so many years." Carolyn said, miserably.

"What can she…. Never mind. We'll get this all straightened out at home and that will be the end of it. Just relax and enjoy the ride. We'll be home in a bit."

"I can't believe I wanted to shoot her. I was wishing for my gun."

Mike reached down by his ankle and handed her his extra gun. "If you see her again, fire away. I'll back you up."

Carolyn gave him a brief smile, but she took the gun. "I love you."

"I love you too."

They didn't see the woman when they got home. Mike made sure everything was locked up tight while Carolyn put the baby in her crib and joined him on the couch. She had changed back into her comfortable clothes and snuggled close to him on the couch. He had put the papers away in the wall safe so they weren't in evidence.

He turned on the television but wasn't watching it. He was waiting for her to open the topic. "Did…Did she tell you her name?"

"No."

"It's the same as mine. Basically. Lynn Carol. A play on mine."

"That was cruel."

"He was cruel. He was a lying, cheating, scumbag. He left my mother when she wouldn't even try to give him a son."

"That's biology. It's the man who determines the sex of the child."

"He knew that. He just knew he had to keep trying. My mom said no and he left her the next day. I heard them arguing about it."

Mike wanted to pound the man for hurting her even before he'd ever known her. "Sounds like you were better off without him."

"After awhile we were. It was hard going there for a while. He even denied that I was his daughter so he could get out of child support."

"If I could kill him for you again, I would." He squeezed her to him.

"My hero." She teased and kissed him.

"So how did this all come about with the other family?"

Carolyn didn't speak for the longest time and he waited. Finally she began to speak low and sadly. "He was sure that some younger woman would give him the son he wanted so he went out and found one. And she was born. He never came back or even wrote. He sent money when he had to by court order but he never contacted us again. We lost track of him and then we had moved beyond him."

"So she's your half sister. From what I can see is you don't share many physical characteristics."

"We're both stubborn. We've run into each other from time to time. I can't get rid of the resentment toward her. I know it's not her fault that she was born, she couldn't pick her parents any more than I could choose mine, but I just can't get past it."

"You don't have to talk to her ever again if you don't want to."

"But what about those papers?"

"I locked them away. You don't even have to respond if you don't want to."

"I should at least look at them."

"Let's let a lawyer look at them then we'll decide. Are you ready? For bed, I mean?"

Carolyn laughed at the change of subject and the eagerness in her husband. "I'm ready for you anytime." She told him.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**A Large Chunk of Change**

Carolyn returned to work. It was nice to be back to work. She was restricted to desk duty, but it was alright. She gradually began to update herself on the case load and by the end of the week she was up to speed on all the cases.

Mike had taken the papers to a lawyer and she was looking them over and would give them a call when she was done. No further sighting of Lyn Carol was made and life returned to pretty much normal.

Except Carolyn couldn't rid herself of the urge to find out more about the woman. So she went on the police database and put in all the information she had on the woman. She had no criminal background, not so much as a parking ticket. Beyond that she wasn't listed anywhere in the NYPD data base. She appeared to have vanished.

They got a call from the lawyer. She wanted to meet them in her office. That made Carolyn uneasy. Truthfully she was nervous over the entire thing. It made no sense. She was a grown woman, a police detective and a mother. She was more than capable of taking care of herself and her family. She made the appointment and called Mike.

The appointment was at 3:00. The lawyer invited them into her office at three on the dot. "Please have a seat." She said.

"What did you find out?" Mike asked without preliminaries.

"It's a standard estate distribution. As far as I can tell, there's nothing unusual about it. Each one of the surviving children get an even split of the money to do with as they please, after inheritance taxes, of course."

"Surviving children? How—How many children are there?"

"I did find it a bit unusual but not unheard of for there to be a nondisclosure agreement here that no one person is allowed to know how many others there are or who they are. If any one of them fails to respond to the notice by two weeks from today that share is to be divided between the rest of them. So I'd say you are lucky to have this brought to you. You should be thanking whoever did."

"So there's some money there?"

"Quite a substantial sum, actually."

"How….substantial?" Carolyn asked quietly.

The lawyer wrote a number on a piece of paper and slid it across the desk. "That is, of course, if nothing changes between now and then."

Mike whistled at the amount. "Honey, that's a chunk of change."

"Suppose I said I didn't want it. What would be the procedure to refuse it?" Carolyn asked the lawyer.

Judging by the look on her face, that question had never been asked of the lawyer. "You, uh, just wouldn't reply. It automatically reverts to the estate. Is that what you want to do?"

"I'll have to let you know." Carolyn stood up. They thanked the lawyer and left the office.

"Are you serious? After all that man put you through?" Mike asked.

"I don't know, Mike. I guess I expected this to be a trick for her to talk to me. I never expected this."

"I'm happy for you, honey. If you take it, I think you ought to buy yourself something nice then put the rest away for the future."

"You mean you don't want to be a kept man."

"I am. You keep Jenna and I happy and satisfied. That is all I want."

"I Mike, I think I'd like to find and talk to her."

"Her? You mean Lynn?

"Yeah. I looked her up on the police database. I didn't find much on her. I don't even know where to look."

"I uh, I know where she is."

Carolyn jerked around to stare at him in surprise. "You know? Has she been in contact with you?" she demanded angrily.

"No. And she doesn't know I know either. I just had some uniforms keep and eye out for her and keep me posted on her activities is all."

"What kind of activities? Is she into drugs, or…."

"No, Carolyn, and get yourself under control. Is this how you always react to her? This isn't like you at all."

"She pushes my buttons, alright?"

"Well, don't let her. You're smarter than that."

"I can't help it. Just that she exists makes it all seem so painful. What kind of activity is she involved in?"

"Buying and selling."

"You said she wasn't into drugs!" she accused.

"She isn't. She's buying and selling horses. That's what she does."

"Horses. Like a cowboy?"

"High end horses, but yeah, she's a cowboy. She's in town making deals to buy and sell high priced horses. As far as I can tell, she's clean as a whistle."

"Can-can you set up a meeting?"

"I can go see her and see if she will meet you. You said you didn't want to see her and she's kept her word. I don't know how she'll react now."

"Would you try? For me?"

"For you I'll try to track the moon."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**I Don't Want to be Friends**

Mike didn't tell Carolyn that he was going to see Lynn. He just went. He wanted to talk to the woman first and see what she had to say. He knew Carolyn could and would take care of herself, but this whole thing gave him the creeps.

The stables where Lynn was staying was large and expensive looking even to his inexperienced eye. There were people bustling around and he stopped one of them to ask where he could find her. He got the evil eye, but the man pointed to a group of people outside an arena.

As he approached he saw they were discussing a horse being run around the pen. They seemed to be haggling over the price. Lynn saw him and told the others "Excuse me, there's someone I need to talk to. I'll be right back."

One of the men looked over at Mike. ""If I make a deal while you're gone, I'll expect you to honor it."

"Reggie, if you make a deal while I'm gone we'll all keel over in shock. But feel free." Lynn told him jokingly. Her attitude toward Mike wasn't exactly as welcoming.

"Hello."it was a declarative statement. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked levelly at him.

"You have to know why I'm here." Mike said.

"If she had her way, it'd either to tell me to get out of town or to arrest me, I suppose." Her tone was hard.

"I would've thought you'd have gotten that message already." He couldn't help baiting her.

"I don't care one way or another what she thinks. I haven't done wrong and I will go where and when I want to. She doesn't control the world, badge or no."

"For someone who deals with animals, you are awfully cynical."

"Animals come with owners. What do you want, Detective?"

"She wants to see you."

"Sure she does. Pardon me while I get my Easter basket to distribute the eggs."

"You don't believe me?"

"What do you think? She hasn't ever wanted to see me unless this is about the money. She's not getting one penny more than anyone else."

"You and she share a lot of anger."

"You don't even want me to respond to that comment. Today is Friday. I'm leaving here next Thursday. I'm available until then. I'll make and appointment with her whenever she wants. After that, I won't be talking to her again."

"That's awful hard nosed for someone who just did her a favor. You didn't have to do that, you know."

"I had my reasons and you saw the result. Figure it out for yourself. Now if you will excuse me, I have business to attend to."

She didn't ask him if he minded. She just turned and walked away. She reminded him then of Carolyn. It struck him that she was _a lot _like Carolyn.

Carolyn was feeding Jenna when he told her about his visit with Lynn. She didn't respond at first. "When did you go there?"

"This morning. She has as much anger in her at you as you do at her..u I think you ought to talk to her and see if you can't at least learn to get along. She may not be your favorite person, but she is family."

Carolyn stiffened at the reference. "One I had no choice in."

"Do you think anyone does? Do you think she did? Family is who you're related to. Friends are family by choice."

Carolyn looked over at him. "Where did you get that?"

Mike shrugged, embarrassed. "It's something I read once."

"I'll give her a call. Did you get the number?"

"No. But I do the name of the stable where she was. 

"Some detective." Carolyn teased gently.

"Hey, I was worried about you guys, okay?"

"I know, Mike. Thank you. So what else did you find out? 

"She's really cynical. I'd say she's had a lot of experience with a rough sort of crowd."

"You don't think she's a threat to Jenna, do you?"

"No. I wouldn't let her anywhere near her or you if I thought that. I am going to check into her further, though. Does she have any association with a criminal element that you know of?"

"I don't know anything about her." Carolyn admitted. "I never cared to."

"Well, we'll let her only get so far. She won't be a problem, I promise you that."

"Good." Carolyn replied.

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The meeting was set up for the following Tuesday at the restaurant where Mike and Carolyn had first talked to the woman. Lynn. Carolyn was nervous, but she supposed she should get used to calling the woman by her name.

Carolyn dressed carefully. Since she was on duty later she carried her badge in the inside pocket and wore her gun. Not that she really thought she would need it, but because she felt better with it on. She was early for the 10:00 am meeting. She found a table in the back of the restaurant and sat down to wait. The waitress brought her a cup of coffee.

"You wanted to see me?" a voice told her immediately who was there.

Carolyn controlled her body carefully, lest she give something away. She looked up to see Lynn standing next to the table. "I guess. Would you like to sit down?"

"Are you armed?"

"Excuse me?"

"Are you armed? It's a simple enough question."

"I…have my gun, yes. I'll be going on duty after this. Why?"

"I just want to know what to expect, is all. Just so you know, so am I."

"You have a gun?"

"I do. I thought you ought to know up front."

"Why would you carry…uh, thank you for telling me. Please, sit down."

Lynn perched uneasily on the chair and eyed her. "Your…fiancé said you'd decided to see me. Did you have a question? Or did the lawyer give you a hard time? I can call the estate lawyer and he can talk to your lawyer if you need him to."

"No, Lynn" Carolyn didn't miss the stiffening of her sister at the name.

"I don't go by that name any more. I've been Carol for years now."

"Sorry, I didn't know."

"No reason you should." Carol said sharply. "It's not like we're close or anything."

"How come you changed your name?"

"I didn't. It has always been mine. I choose to use it is all. Lynn was what _he _called me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. Do you have questions about the will or something?"

"No, it was pretty straight forward. I was curious about you and how you are. Who you are?"

"I have a knack for picking out nice horses for people, so I go around the country and do that. That's pretty much it."

"It has to be more than that. You said you carry a gun? Do you have a permit for it in New York?"

"Yes, officer, I have a permit for it. I sometimes carry large amounts of cash and valuable cargo, so I have a permit to carry one. Do you want to see it?"

Carolyn was taken aback by the vehemence in Carols voice. "No, I was just making conversation. My lawyer tells me that this is a pretty standard will. She also said that it's common for there to be a clause in there about people not knowing how many people inherited and who they are."

"True. I suggested that for everyone's peace of mind."

"Do you know how many there are and who they are?"

"I'm the executor. I know, but no one else will."

The waitress came over and reached for Carols cup. She put a hand on it and told the woman, "Just a soda, please. Diet of whatever you have." She requested with a smile.

"We have coke, honey."

"That'll be fine."

The waitress refilled Carolyn's cup and moved off. "You don't like coffee?"

"I never developed a taste for it. Soda is my drink."

"You never said. How did you find me?"

_"He _kept a file on you. He was very proud of you. He always held up what you've done to all of us and said we should all do as well as you."

"He did? How come he never contacted me? I never heard from him again after he left us for your mother."

"Be grateful. He was a miserable louse and a lousy failure at everything. You were better off without him."

Carolyn was shocked. "I still would have liked to know him." She said softly.

"Why? No one who knew him wanted to know him. Count yourself lucky you weren't one of them."

"You can't know that."

Carol shrugged. "If you want to believe that, go ahead. I know the truth. I can't make you believe what you don't want to. So what else do you need to know? I have an appointment before long."

Carolyn was shocked by her callousness, but she supposed she shouldn't be surprised. "I just thought we should have more to talk about, is all. We are after all related."

"An accident of birth. You made that clear years ago. So was there anything else you wanted to know?"

"No, I guess not. I had hoped…."

"What, Carolyn? You had hoped that we could be sisters, friendly acquaintances, Friends? I don't need any more friends. I have plenty. I'm actually a fairly likeable person. Sisters? I could use one of those, but I want a real sister. Not one who resents the very air I breath."

"I…it wasn't…."

Carol waved her hand in the air dismissively. "Whatever it was or wasn't is past. We either go on and deal with it from here or let it drop. I know what I want. What do you want, Carolyn? I have to go. I'll be in touch with you before I leave town. We can decide then. Good bye."

Carol strolled out of the restaurant. Carolyn was just as happy to see her go. She was a cold person and she wasn't at all sure she ever wanted to see her again. She stood up and gathered her coat. The waitress came over to get the dishes. Carolyn gave her a five dollar bill. The waitress handed it back. "It's already been paid for and then some."

"I didn't see…."

"That other lady said she didn't expect this to take long and she gave me a twenty. If you want to give her the change, I can…."

"No keep it. I'm sure she wanted you to have it." Carolyn smiled at her and left the restaurant.

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Mike came home fairly bursting with curiosity. He helped her get the table ready for dinner while she explained about the brief meeting that was confusing, aggravating and left her wanting to know more about her half sister.

"She was so angry and closed off. Like she was mad at me for…."

"Like she was scared? Like she was afraid of getting hurt? Like she'd been rejected before and she didn't want to go through that again?" Mike supplied.

Carolyn hit him on the arm with her fist. "Yes, damn you. Just like that."

"Ow! Don't take it out on me. I'm on your side here."

"There shouldn't be sides. Damn him anyway for being such a selfish SOB. He could have told someone where he was."

"Yes, baby, he could have. But maybe he was too much of a coward. Maybe he couldn't face the fact that he made a mistake. Would you have wanted him to come back and then leave all over again?"

"No." Carolyn turned toward him and buried her face in his shoulder. "I'm so confused, Mike. I don't like feeling this way."

"No one does, honey. No one does."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**I'll be Around Sometime**

It was almost a week before Carol made another appearance. Carolyn had been on pins and needles waiting for her call and Mike had gotten angry for her making Carolyn wait. He insisted that he be there when the meeting took place. They left Jenna with her sitter and drove out to the country where Carol said she'd be.

Mike was indignant on Carolyns behalf and mad enough to chew iron and spit nails over the arrogant treatment she'd received.

He pulled up to a parking space that said visitors and they got out. He took Carolyns hand and they moved into the building. It was an indoor arena with stalls down each side. He spotted Carol sitting in a lawn chair watching what was going on inside the arena. He stomped toward her. She glanced over at them and got up out of the chair. It was obvious that she was in pain.

She turned to face them and waited for them to get closer. "I'm glad you could come. I'm sorry it was such a long drive."

"What happened to you?" Carolyn asked gesturing to the arm she kept close to her side.

"A horse fell on me. I wanted to call you and talk to you before I leave. I have to be back in Michigan tonight so I need to get on the road. Thank you for coming."

"Wait a minute. A horse fell on you? That's all you're going to say?" Mike demanded.

"It happens. When you have a 1500 lb horse with a brain the size of a pea, it's not a matter of if, but when. Anyway, I wrote down my cell phone number and an address where I get my mail, if you want it. I get my mail once a week or so and usually can be reached by phone, unless I'm somewhere were they don't allow it. I'd really like to see if we can establish some kind of relationship, Carolyn. I don't expect it to be a close one, there's too much resentment for that, but some kind of connection would be nice. Who knows someday it may come in handy."

"Can't you stay a little longer? You look like you're hurting. If you need someplace to crash for a few days…." Carolyn surprised herself by offering.

"Thanks, but I can't. I have people waiting for me. And it's best if I leave. Too much togetherness isn't good for us right now."

"Can you….Can you at least tell me how many brothers and sisters I have?" Carolyn asked tentatively.

Carol looked thoughtful for a minute. "I guess you deserve to know. In fact it may come in handy. You have seven half brothers. I'm your only sister. That was named in the will. The only reason I'm telling you this is because I think you should be ready just in case. Not all our siblings are upstanding citizens and don't believe everything they tell you. You'll learn soon enough about them."

"What about you? Do you have to be careful of them?"

"Nope. They know better than to mess with me. Good luck, Carolyn and Mike. Take good care of my niece and I'll be around sometimes. Come on, let's get them loaded. We have to leave."

Carol walked into the arena and gestured for the final two horses to walk into the trailer. The rattle of those big animals loading drowned out the sound of Mike calling to her "You can't just up and leave like this."

She either ignored him or didn't hear him. "I'm going in there. She can't just leave you hanging like that." He reached for the gate.

Carolyn laid a hand on his arm. Gentle, restraining. "Just leave it, Mike. She wants it this way and I think I do too. We can't force a relationship. It'll come. I have her number and address and she knows where we live. I'll see her again. Next time, it will be when we both want it. Let's go home."

The huge semi with a great big horsetrailer moved out of the end of the barn arena as Mike and Carolyn walked out of the other end.

Complete


End file.
